Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $5.3\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$161$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${5.3\%} \times {\$161} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $5.3\%$ is equivalent to $5.3 \div 100$ $5.3 \div 100 = 0.053$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.053$ $\times$ $$161$ = $$8.53$ You would pay $$8.53$ in sales tax.